(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-22 08:50

WASHINGTON - The United States called on Friday the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to sign a final peace agreement to formally put an end to decades of conflicts.

"We urge the parties to sign the Final Peace Agreement on or before March 28 to demonstrate their commitment to peace and to send a strong signal of that commitment to both the international community and northern Ugandans," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Representatives of Uganda's government and the LRA signed earlier this month an extension to a ceasefire in Juba, South Sudan, where negotiators of the two sides have been holding peace talks since 2006. The extension expires March 28.

The LRA's two-decade-long insurgency has reportedly left tens of thousands of people dead and more than 1.4 million homeless.